SPORTS fans who are looking to take up a new hobby are being encouraged to give the high-octane game of racketball a go.

Bosses at the sport’s governing body – Scottish Squash and Racketball Limited (SSRL) – have announced details of their new ‘Free Sport For A Month’ promotion.

During the next four months, SSRL will be inviting people to try squash or racketball for a month, free of charge, at a number of clubs throughout the country.

John Dunlop, of SSRL, said: “Rebound racquet sports – squash and the great new sport of racketball – are great ways to build stamina and reaction speed and they also deliver a terrific aerobic workout.

“Many sportsmen already use these sports to build and maintain their fitness.

“With the recent introduction of racketball in Scotland and to celebrate the launch of two new accessible variants of racketball – racketball 2s and racketball 3s – our clubs are opening their doors to everyone to discover the fun of these sports, whatever their level of ability.”

Ron Pearman, SSRL chairman, added: “With our development of racketball 2s and 3s, we believe we now have something for everyone.

“It doesn’t matter what format you choose to play because the experience is similar and the benefits are the same – great exercise, competition and fun.

“In the last two years, SSRL has reviewed everything we are doing in Scotland. The launch of racketball 2s and 3s, targeted at girls, women, couples and the five-a-side market, comes ahead of other initiatives which we hope to launch this year.

“For instance, we continue to seek funding for a great project to put Mini Squash into every primary school in Scotland – a project that gives a demonstrably-immense return on investment in terms of access to sports equipment at low cost, with minimal cost of ownership.

“In the spring, we will be launching other formats to bring younger children into the clubs.

“We are currently introducing one-wall variants of our sports into areas where there are no courts.

“We hope shortly to introduce new equipment, including a racquet wall, which is designed to take the one-wall variants into any sports hall in the country, and our head coach Roger Flynn will soon be assessing the prototype.

“Of course, the one-wall variant is not as radical as you might think. Squash was originally played on a single wall, although even I am too old to remember that.”

Anyone wishing to give racketball a try should call Michael Grant at the Strathgryffe Lawn Tennis and Squash Club, in Houston, on 01505 615100.